Theodotus was a bishop of Ancyra in the Roman province of Galatia (modern Ankara, in Asia Minor) who, according to the synaxarion tradition, lived during the third and early fourth centuries and suffered martyrdom during the persecution of the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Remembered for his kindliness and pastoral concern, he sheltered and provided for the faithful through the persecution before being put to death for confessing Christ.
He is to be distinguished from Theodotus the Innkeeper of Ancyra, a separate martyr of the same city commemorated on May 18, with whom his account is connected through the burial of the seven virgin-martyrs. His feast is kept on June 7.
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Ministry During the Persecution
As the persecution under Diocletian intensified, Theodotus turned his episcopal office toward the protection and relief of the harried Christian community of Ancyra. The synaxarion relates that he supplied the faithful with what they needed and opened his own home as a refuge, where church services were celebrated in secret.
His charity extended to those already in the hands of the authorities: he is said to have visited Christian prisoners, paid sums for their release, and reverently gathered and buried the bodies of martyrs who had been executed. Among these, tradition records that he buried the bodies of seven women martyrs who had been drowned in the sea, an account associated with the commemoration of May 18.
Martyrdom
By the synaxarion's account, Theodotus's works of mercy came to the notice of the authorities and led to his arrest. Brought before his interrogators, he refused to offer sacrifice to the idols and openly denounced paganism, confessing Christ as God.
For this confession he was subjected to severe tortures and finally beheaded with a sword. The tradition adds that his persecutors sought to burn his body but were prevented by a storm that arose, after which his relics were given to a Christian for burial.
Identity and Commemoration
The bishop-martyr Theodotus commemorated on June 7 is distinct from a later, fifth-century bishop of Ancyra of the same name who took part in the Council of Ephesus (431); the hieromartyr honored here belongs instead to the era of the Diocletianic persecution. He is venerated as both a hierarch and a hieromartyr.
